NFL Draft 2018 Round 3: Houston Texans Select S Justin Reid

The Houston Texans have selected Justin Reid in Round 3 — 68th pick — in the NFL Draft.  How will this have an effect on the team as a whole? What about potential?  Let’s take a look and examine further.

With the 68th pick in Round 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select:

Justin Reid!

So how about this pick for the Houston Texans?  It’s tough to gauge what to expect but it will be interesting to see how this man fits with the team.

Reid is a 6’0,” 207-pound safety out of Stanford with 31.6″ arms and 9.75″ hands has officially become a at-large member of the Houston Texans’ secondary.

He’s known for his speed, athleticism and his smarts for the game itself.  Reid was asked to play a variety of roles in his tenure with Stanford.  Pro Football Focus mentions that one of his most difficult roles was that he took on man coverage while defending receivers in the slot.  This likely weighed into his below-average 61.8 grade for 2017.

That’s certainly not an easy task and with this team wanting to bring skilled players in to a system where one has to do more than one thing makes this pick a possible fit.

PFF had him ranked 40th among NFL-eligible safeties and gave him an 80.4 overall grade for his collegiate career.

I’m not in love with this pick — but can learn to — because the Texans could’ve gone with an offensive lineman or tight end — but we’ll certainly see how this goes but if all goes well, he will eventually be a starter alongside hopefully alongside Tyrann Mathieu in the future.

There’s a lot to look forward to with his potential but I’ll reserve judgement until he gets acclimated to a pro-style defense that’s in place with Romeo Crennel at the helm.

But you don’t have to take my word for it, here’s what some of the experts had to say about Reid:

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle via Twitter:

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:

"“Reid is what teams are looking for at the safety position in 2018. He’s a plus size/speed prospect who has the athletic ability to help with man coverage and the instincts and ball skills for ball-hawking duties on the back end. Reid can get himself into some trouble when he’s overly aggressive, but his positive plays far outweigh the negative. He has the talent to become an early starter and a good one. Reid’s instincts and play traits should make him a safe selection with Pro Bowl potential down the road.”"

Reid is certainly a playmaker in every sense of the word and I honestly think it’s going to be a delight to watch him play when he finally gets it.

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Reid amassed 170 tackles — 10.5 for loss — along with six picks, 1.0 sack and 14 passes defensed through three seasons for the Cardinals.